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Priory Primary School, Bicknacre

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Community school in Chelmsford, CM3 4ES, taking ages 4 to 11, 153 on roll.

Requires improvement Ofsted, Jul 2023
6.447 mi Admitted from, 2025/26
73% Full
63.0% Met the expected standard, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In the 2025/26 round, the furthest-away child offered a place at Priory Primary School, Bicknacre lived 6.447 miles away, according to Essex. Put a postcode in and it is measured against that distance.

Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close on 15 January 2027, with offers on 16 April 2027. The address on the deadline is the one the council uses. How it works.

The circle is 6.447 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2025/26. Real admission areas are not circular: this is the distance, not a boundary.

This is not a catchment area. Most English schools do not have one. When Priory Primary School, Bicknacre is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived. 6.447 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.

What kind of school this is

Religious characterNo religious character
Sixth formDoes not have a sixth form
How full 153 pupils in 210 places (73% full)
Local authorityEssex

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Requires improvement, inspected 20 July 2023
Meeting the expected standard 63.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25)
YearMeeting the expected standard
2024/25 63.0%
2023/24 46.0%
2022/23 50.0%

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to Priory Primary School, Bicknacre

Girls and boys41.8% girls, 58.2% boys
English as an additional language3.3% of pupils
Free school meals15.0% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

What it costs to live within reach of Priory Primary School, Bicknacre

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 6.447 miles the school admitted from in 2025/26, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is CM9 at £325,000; the dearest, CM3, £580,000. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.

DistrictAreaFrom the schoolMedian sold price
CM9 Maldon 5.8 mi £325,000 125 sales
CM1 Chelmsford 6.4 mi £345,000 87 sales
CM2 Chelmsford 4.5 mi £361,000 142 sales
SS11 Basildon 5.8 mi £367,500 129 sales
CM98 Chelmsford 4.7 mi £487,500 42 sales
CM3 Chelmsford 1.7 mi £580,000 74 sales

Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.

The fee-paying alternative

Weighing Priory Primary School, Bicknacre against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around CM3: ages, selection, and how full each one is →

Checking the house as well as the school

The full report measures the distance from every nearby school to one address, alongside sold prices, flood risk, crime and the other checks on the same house.

Common questions

What is the catchment area for Priory Primary School, Bicknacre?

Priory Primary School, Bicknacre does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in 2025/26 lived 6.447 miles away, per Essex.

How close do I need to live to get a place at Priory Primary School, Bicknacre?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 6.447 miles was enough in 2025/26. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.

Does buying a house near Priory Primary School, Bicknacre guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.

Every Essex school's distance

All Essex schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →

Admission distance published by Essex. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.